Washing-machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE.

JOHN FORDYCE, OF MORGANTOWN, VIRGINIA.

WASHING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 21,665, dated October 5, 1858.

To all whom t 717mg/ Concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN FORDYCE, of Morgantown, in the county of Monongalia and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VashinOf-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l, represents a perspectiye view of the machine. Fig. 2, represents a vertical longitudinal section through the same, and Fig. 3, a top plan, with the cover removed.

Similar letters of reference where they occur in the several figures denote like parts of the machine in all of them.

My invention consists in the combination of the tipping and stationary racks, with the plunger for the purpose of loosening up, raising, and burning over the clothes, and preventing them from being drawn back by the plunger, and off from the tipping rack as will be explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the dra-wings.

A, represents a wash-box, supported on legs B. In the end of the said box, are fixed the stationary ribs C, against which the clothes are forced and washed by the plunger D.

In bearings I, on top of the wash box, a shaft E is hung, to which a hand lever F, is afixed to work it by. Arms Gr, project downward from the shaft E, into the wash box, and to the lower ends of these arms are pivoted, arms H, which are attached to the plunger D, so that by rocking the shaft E, by the hand lever F, a reciprocatory motion is given to the plunger D, which moves back and forth on guides or ways J, 0n the sides of the wash box.

A shaft K, is hung near the bottom of the wash box upon which are placed strips L, so as to form a rack. To this rack is connected Y one end of a wire or cord a, the other end of which is attached to a lever Z), pivoted at c-said lever being drawn and held down by a coiled spring (l.

On the rock shaft E, is a stud or cam e, which when said shaft is worked, strikes against the rear end of the lever b, and throwing it down raises up the other end thereof, and by so doing raises up the front end of the rack which contains the clothes throwing them back toward the plunger. Then the stud c slips past the end of the lever, the spring ai which was previously distended, contracts and causes the rack inside to suddenly drop, and the plunger by this time is going forward and drives the clothes against the ribs C, and so on.

Behind the shaft K, and in the bottom of the wash box, are upright stationary rack teeth N, over the tops of which the plunger will just slide free. When the plunger is going backward the rear of the tripping rack is the lowest, and the tendency of the clothes, is to drop back, and get behind the plunger. To prevent this the stationary rack teeth N, are introduced, and they catch and retain the clothes until the plunger again carries them forward, and thus the operation of washing, raising up, and turning over the clothes is continued and repeated by simply working the lever F.

The red lines in Fig. 2, show the action of the rack L, in throwing back the clothes, and the various positions of the parts that operate the rack or rack pieces.

Having thus fully described the nature and object of my invention, what I claim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with the reciprocating plunger D, the tipping rack, and the stationary rack teeth the three parts operating together in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

JOHN FORDYOE.

Witnesses:

J. B. WooDwABD, GEORGE W. SEMANS. 

